Looking for a recommendation for a reliable ~$50ish 400W or so PSU

[Quartz11]

Location: USA

 

I will be updating my mother’s computer slightly soon, like adding a larger SSD and going from 4GB to 12GB of RAM, reusing some parts from previous builds.  The PSU in her computer is now 10 years old since purchase—Antec Earth Watts.  I think it’s be smart to update that along with the other parts.  Since system power requirement is really low (old i5, SSD, GTX 750, DVD drive, 4 fans), something around 400 Watts is plenty.  I’d like to stick with something cheap but good quality and reliable.

 

My current top contender is a gray label Corsair CX450 CP-9020120-NA, which is $55 on NewEgg (550W version is only $5 more, but perhaps it’s less efficient at low loads).  Is there anything else I should consider?

[IIIIIIIIII]

It's actually a good budget PSU.

[SorryBella]

https://www.newegg.com/evga-500-gd-100-gd-0500-v1-500w/p/N82E16817438158?Item=N82E16817438158&nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=AFC-RAN-COM&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-PCPartPicker&AFFID=2558510&AFFNAME=PCPartPicker&ACRID=1&ASID=https%3a%2f%2fpcpartpicker.com%2f&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2558510&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-tGxAv0ffZveIxcWz1.cjCA

 

EVGA GD is also at that price range.

[Quartz11]

2 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

https://www.newegg.com/evga-500-gd-100-gd-0500-v1-500w/p/N82E16817438158?Item=N82E16817438158&nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=AFC-RAN-COM&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-PCPartPicker&AFFID=2558510&AFFNAME=PCPartPicker&ACRID=1&ASID=https%3a%2f%2fpcpartpicker.com%2f&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2558510&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-tGxAv0ffZveIxcWz1.cjCA

 

EVGA GD is also at that price range.

EVGA GD seems lower down the list: tier C Low Prio/Issues/Lack of Info category, if I’m looking at it right.  Corsair CX Gray is Tier B.

[dean_5234]

12 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

My current top contender is a gray label Corsair CX450 CP-9020120-NA, which is $55 on NewEgg (550W version is only $5 more, but perhaps it’s less efficient at low loads).  Is there anything else I should consider?

The EVGA B5 is currently 55.99 on Amazon. 80+ Bronze, Fully Modular, B Tier. Better than all other psus mentioned so far

[Quartz11]

5 minutes ago, davemc said:

The EVGA B5 is currently 55.99 on Amazon. 80+ Bronze, Fully Modular, B Tier. Better than all other psus mentioned so far

Thanks for the recommendation!  What makes it better?  It’s in the low prio/lack of info/issues section.  Corsair CX is in the best of B category.  Curious about the reasoning.  

[dean_5234]

4 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

Thanks for the recommendation!  What makes it better?  It’s in the low prio/lack of info/issues section.  Corsair CX is in the best of B category.  Curious about the reasoning.  

Its pretty similar in terms of reliability but what make it good is its compact and fully modular as well as being B tier.

[Quartz11]

A follow-up question on Corsair CX : is this still a thing with model number CP-9020120-NA ?

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx450-psu,5678.html

 

”Corsair's budget-oriented CX450 is unique in that it's manufactured by two different OEMs--Great Wall and Channel Well Technology (CWT)--each of which uses a distinct platform. The only way to tell them apart is by their RPS numbers, reference designators given to each model.”

 

 

[IIIIIIIIII]

13 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

Thanks for the recommendation!  What makes it better?  It’s in the low prio/lack of info/issues section.  Corsair CX is in the best of B category.  Curious about the reasoning.  

EVGA B5 was probably made by HEC and no information is known except that it is FB LLC + DC to DC. If it has decent performance + decent build quality, it's okay, but there are no reviews.

 

Or, if you don't plan to upgrade to Ampere GPU, this.

[comicsansms]

1 minute ago, Quartz11 said:

A follow-up question on Corsair CX : is this still a thing with model number CP-9020120-NA ?

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx450-psu,5678.html

 

”Corsair's budget-oriented CX450 is unique in that it's manufactured by two different OEMs--Great Wall and Channel Well Technology (CWT)--each of which uses a distinct platform. The only way to tell them apart is by their RPS numbers, reference designators given to each model.”

 

 

The Great Wall and CWT CX450's preform very similarly. They exist alongside each-other because neither manufacturer could deal with the supply enough PSUs to cover demand.

[seon123]

5 minutes ago, davemc said:

Its pretty similar in terms of reliability but what make it good is its compact and fully modular as well as being B tier.

And how were you able to get any data on its reliability? It's 150mm long, vs the 140mm long CX450. Not sure how being 10mm longer makes it more compact. Being fully modular also doesn't improve its reliability or performance. Being tier B means nothing, and there aren't any in depth reviews of the B5 that I could find.

5 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

A follow-up question on Corsair CX : is this still a thing with model number CP-9020120-NA ?

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx450-psu,5678.html

 

”Corsair's budget-oriented CX450 is unique in that it's manufactured by two different OEMs--Great Wall and Channel Well Technology (CWT)--each of which uses a distinct platform. The only way to tell them apart is by their RPS numbers, reference designators given to each model.”

 

 

Both versions are fine, so it's nothing to worry about.

[Quartz11]

3 minutes ago, seon123 said:

And how were you able to get any data on its reliability? It's 150mm long, vs the 140mm long CX450. Not sure how being 10mm longer makes it more compact. Being fully modular also doesn't improve its reliability or performance. Being tier B means nothing, and there aren't any in depth reviews of the B5 that I could find.

Both versions are fine, so it's nothing to worry about.

I’ve only found this review so far, not very detailed, though good results:

https://hexus.net/tech/reviews/psu/144901-evga-550-b5-psu-550w/

[IIIIIIIIII]

4 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

I’ve only found this review so far, not very detailed, though good results:

https://hexus.net/tech/reviews/psu/144901-evga-550-b5-psu-550w/

This review did not even disassemble the PSU

[Quartz11]

Yeah, always sad to see that

12 minutes ago, IIIIIIIIII said:

This review did not even disassemble the PSU

 

[dean_5234]

25 minutes ago, seon123 said:

It's 150mm long, vs the 140mm long CX450

Ah, did not see that for the Corsair. Wow, thats a short psu. Impressive by them.

 

17 minutes ago, IIIIIIIIII said:

This review did not even disassemble the PSU

Oh my god I didn't catch this I feel like a moron now

FML

[Quartz11]

Turns out I missed a great sale on CX450 only a short time back.  I guess I’ll wait a bit to see if another comes up.  Meanwhile maybe I’ll stumble on a tier A sale, or tier B with higher efficiency than Bronze.

 

Also looking at Be Quiet Pure Power 11 500W at $60 (on sale on NewEgg).  If I keep inching up, EVGA SuperNova G3 550W is $70...  but I think I prefer to stay closer to the $50 mark, as it's a really basic overall build.

[boghubodaghi]

4 hours ago, Quartz11 said:

550W version is only $5 more, but perhaps it’s less efficient at low loads

It's probably not less efficient. Even the CX 650 isn't "less efficient at low loads". You can see yourself here:

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx450-psu,5678-5.html

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx650-power-supply-review/2

[Quartz11]

Ok, I'm kind of stuck now waiting for deals, but really want to buy something soon (because of possible extended shipping time).  

 

Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 500W non-modular is currently $60, which is a decent price, and I see it's Tier B in gold on the PSU Tier list.  But...  I'm kind of worried about some aspects of it.  Specifically the older platform (not sure if it matters for a very simple low-power system), the 85C primary capacitor (105C secondary, both by Teapo)--again not sure if it will really matter.  Some talked about high inrush current and bad transient response--I guess that could be pretty relevant?  The system is so simple: just an older i3, a low-end low-power graphics card, 1 hard drive, 1 SSD.  All it gets used for is browsing the web and playing on-line videos. 

 

At this point I'm also going off large retailer reviews: the Be Quiet Pure Power 11 units seem to have a really low overall number of 1 star reviews compared to some competitors I've considered, so pretty good quality control.  Looking at US and international Amazon reviews as well as combined google-pooled reviews on Google shopping.

 

I wish we could have the older PSU prices and availability back.  Ideally I'd get something like a Bitfenix Whisper 450W, but it's just not available to buy.  Etc.  I don't feel right paying $60ish for a bronze Corsair CX power supply.  Maybe if I saw it on a better sale, it'd be great, but not at the current prices.

[IIIIIIIIII]

59 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 500W non-modular is currently $60, which is a decent price, and I see it's Tier B in gold on the PSU Tier list.  But...  I'm kind of worried about some aspects of it.  Specifically the older platform (not sure if it matters for a very simple low-power system)

 

Some talked about high inrush current and bad transient response--I guess that could be pretty relevant?

 

59 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

I don't feel right paying $60ish for a bronze Corsair CX power supply.  Maybe if I saw it on a better sale, it'd be great, but not at the current prices.

IMO, better topology and performance is better than better efficiency.

[Quartz11]

5 hours ago, IIIIIIIIII said:

 

IMO, better topology and performance is better than better efficiency.

EDIT: just pulled a trigger on an EVGA G3 550 Watt B-stock with 1 year warranty for $45 after associate discount.  I'll call it a day, hopefully.

[IIIIIIIIII]

26 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

EDIT: just pulled a trigger on an EVGA G3 550 Watt B-stock with 1 year warranty for $45 after associate discount.  I'll call it a day, hopefully.

That's a better unit, but there was a problem with the protection in Aris' sample.

[Quartz11]

8 minutes ago, IIIIIIIIII said:

That's a better unit, but there was a problem with the protection in Aris' sample.

Yup, I saw that.  But the unit I'm getting is a 550-Watt version, and the load on it will be pretty low overall.  Probably 200W absolute max.  Aris seems to like the G3 overall, I've seen him refer to it positively in reviews of other power supplies, which was a reassurance during my search into available ~$50 options from the A and B tiers.

[seon123]

10 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

Yup, I saw that.  But the unit I'm getting is a 550-Watt version, and the load on it will be pretty low overall.  Probably 200W absolute max.  Aris seems to like the G3 overall, I've seen him refer to it positively in reviews of other power supplies, which was a reassurance during my search into available ~$50 options from the A and B tiers.

Probably not a great choice, if you have ears. It has a very aggressive fan curve. It has a 130mm fan, which was measured to run at 1165 RPM and 29.1 dBA at 20W, and at 1300 RPM and 32.4 dBA at 220W, in the Cybenetics report.

[Quartz11]

39 minutes ago, seon123 said:

Probably not a great choice, if you have ears. It has a very aggressive fan curve. It has a 130mm fan, which was measured to run at 1165 RPM and 29.1 dBA at 20W, and at 1300 RPM and 32.4 dBA at 220W, in the Cybenetics report.

Are you looking at the right model?  The low wattage 550W G3 does not have such an aggressively loud fan curve of the higher wattage models:

https://www.cybenetics.com/index.php?option=database&params=1,0,36

550W is rated as A- with average noise rating of "26.53" dB.  Looks like without the passive mode enabled, it should be up to 25 dB with my particular system's maximum load.

 

https://pcper.com/2016/12/evga-supernova-550w-g3-power-supply-review/5/#ftoc-heading-6

 

I'm going to keep the fan on full time for my mother's system.